Breast Cancer, what you should know about Testing and Diagnosis

The chance, that breast cancer is found early, it is more likely to be treated successfully. Checking for cancer in a person who does not have any symptoms is called screening. 

Screening-Tests for breast cancer include, among others, clinical breast exams and mammograms and there is a very important base in the health-service for women. 

The doctor or other health care professional can check the breasts and underarms for lumps, during a clinical breast exam, which could be a sign of breast cancer. 

What is the “mammogram”? 

“The mammogram is a special x-ray of the breast and that can often detect cancers that there are too small for a woman or her doctor to feel them. “ 

A lot of studies show's that mammography screening has reduced the number of deaths from breast cancer. But also, some other studies have not shown a clear benefit from mammography. So- you can't get a 100% results! 

But, to day there are no other ways to check out the breast cancer with a good percentage. Concerning that, the Scientists are continuing to examine the level of benefit that mammography can produce. The National Cancer Institute recommends the following: 

• you are a woman in your 40s, you should have mammography screening every one to two years. 

• you are a woman age 50 and older, you should have mammography screening every one to two years. 

• If you are a woman who is at higher than average risk for breast cancer, you should seek expert medical advice about whether to begin screening before age 40 and how often to have screening mammography. 

The results are between 5 and 10 percent of mammogram not normal and require more testing. The one good information - the most of these follow-up tests confirm that no cancer was present. 

What will be this "more testing"? The doctor will call it a “Biopsy”. The procedure which is needed is to take a small amount of fluid or tissue must remove from the breast to make a diagnosis. A doctor might perform fine needle aspiration, a needle or core Biopsy, or a surgical Biopsy. 

This tissue goes to in the lab, this tissue will be checked on the pathologist examines under the microscope and the results let him see if any of the cells are cancerous. 

In the last time, the Doctors are studying another new type of surgical biopsy that removes less breast tissue. This new type is called an image-guided needle breast biopsy, or stereotactic biopsy. 

With this new system - If approved for general use, we can await, that the result's are much more efficient and clearly, so that the doctors would become an important surgical tool. 

Please take note, that eighty percent of U.S. women who have a surgical breast biopsy do not have cancer! 

***But take also note, that women who have breast biopsies are at HIGHER RISK of developing breast cancer than women who have never had a breast biopsy.*** 

If you know that “- you will have perhaps a second opinion of the doctor's information's. 

The last technical review - With the magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, and ultrasound we have two other techniques which the researchers think might detect breast cancer with greater accuracy and with lower risk! 

What's can help you? 

Other new techniques used to find cancer include a new way of reading mammograms called digital mammography. 

Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, and ultrasound are two other techniques which researchers think might detect breast cancer with greater accuracy.